ELI MANNING gets Tom Brady now, the same Tom Brady who has won three Super Bowls and two MVP honors, who has thrown six TD passes with only one interception on the biggest stage. This is the kind of day Eli’s big brother Peyton needed in the AFC Championship game to keep Brady out of Super Bowl XLI: 27-for-47, 349 yards, one TD, one INT.

Archie Manning always told his youngest boy to try to be like Phil Simms rather than Big Brother.

If ever there is a day when Giants fans need Eli Manning to be Phil Simms, it is Super Bowl Sunday. Because to beat Brady and the 18-0 Patriots, Eli needs his own Pasadena, where Simms was an unconscious 22-25 for 268 yards and three TDs to slay John Elway and the Broncos in Super Bowl XXI.

His Pats-adena.

“We’re gonna have to play great,” Eli said yesterday.

He’s gonna have to be ready to overcome the Sports Illustrated cover jinx.

“I think it’s only seven days, so I should be all right,” Eli said, and smiled.

He’s lucky to have Big Brother offering him advice.

“He said, ‘Don’t watch television for two weeks,'” Eli said.

Eli always believed he would one day take the Giants to a Super Bowl.

“With the New York Giants, and the history they have, and their commitment from an organizational standpoint to winning, I think you kinda think about that you might have a shot with this organization to get there,” he said.

The paparazzi aren’t for him, so why didn’t New York scare him?

“I don’t know if there’s anything to scared of,” he said. “If you come in here and handle your business, and just stay the same person that you always are, don’t change your personality, you should be able to handle it all right.”

Eli talked about the Giants needing to play a perfect game to beat the perfect team. ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski agreed

“I think he’s gonna have to play a terrific game,” Jaworski said. “I do believe the Giants will have success running the football,” adding, “They’re going to need explosive plays.”

So how does Eli stack up against Brady in some of the critical categories used to evaluate quarterbacks?

ACCURACY: Until recently, Eli has struggled in this area. Tom Coughlin imported quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer this season to get him up to a 60 percent completion percentage, from 57.7. Several bad-weather games helped hold Eli back, and he finished the regular season at 56.1 percent. But in the playoffs, Eli has improved dramatically to 62.4 percent, with four TDs and zero INTs. “Tom is a poster boy for fundamentally sound,” Jaworski said. “Eli’s still getting better, but he’s not quite at Brady’s level yet.” EDGE: BRADY

LEADERSHIP: No one has ever considered Eli a leader of men largely because of his easy way. He leads by example, by his preparation, by his dependability. For most of his four years here, that wasn’t enough for those who prefer a fire-breathing Simmsian dragon under center. It is now. His teammates? In Eli they trust. “After the last month, I would put him up there with Brady,” Jaworski said. “Eli has erased all doubts about his leadership ability.”

Brady wouldn’t consent to filming a commercial unless his offensive line was included in it. He will headbutt teammates, rage at zebras. “Tom is more emotion on his sleeve,” Jaworski said. He is more an extension of his head coach than any quarterback in the league. All this selfless celebrity quarterback has ever cared about – other than Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bundchen – is winning. EDGE: BRADY

TOUGHNESS: Eli grew in the eyes of his teammates when he willed his way back Week 2 against the Packers with a throwing shoulder sprain. Like Brady, he never misses a game. Jaworski is highly impressed with how Eli has coped with the fan and media scrutiny in New York. “He never wavered,” Jaworski said. EDGE: BRADY

GAME MANAGEMENT: Brady has forever excelled at making good decisions – when to throw the ball away, etc. “The last four weeks, Eli has been absolutely incredible in that regard,” Jaworski said. The best game managers must have poise, and both quarterbacks score high in this department. EDGE: EVEN

No one, not even Big Brother, matches up well against Brady. But no one thought Simms matched up well against Elway.